As Nishi lounged on the couch beneath him, his eyes drifted around the room, looking at old photos hanging on the walls. One showed Ike as a young boy playing in a tree house, his grandparents holding his head as they took a picture together, a bundle of trees behind them.
"How sickeningly sweet this place is," he said as he propped his feet up on an old table, his hands pinned behind his head as he glanced up at the ceiling, glow-in-the-dark star stickers littering it.
It's an odd sensation to have my vessel's memories, it isn't like how I thought it'd be, it's as if I've lived both lives, Kenjaku must struggle to acclimate to his vessel, Nishi thought as he glanced to the old television set collecting dust just across the room from him.
A sudden knock at the door warranted a glance as a young man's voice was heard, hesitating for a moment as they finally spoke, "...We've arrived."
Slowly coming to a stand, Nishi wiped off his chest and took a drink of water, putting on a smirk as he opened the door, welcomed to a sight.
More than a dozen young men stood before him, all of them with an array of emotion on their face, fear, anxiety, resentment, hate, loathing, and everything in between.
"Good, you listen," Nishi said as he clapped with a smile, "That means I can get started without interruption."
Abruptly, a hand rose from the crowd as Nishi paused with an unreadable expression, "Excuse me..." A timid voice spoke.
The crowd parted as Nishi was left looking at a frail teen, hardly an adult, flinching at the sudden eyes as he steeled his resolve, speaking shortly after, "Y-you aren't gonna hurt anyone in the village... are you?" While none other than him spoke, their expression told a different story, a look of equal care.
Scratching his chin and tilting his gaze slightly off to the side, Nishi looked back as he spoke calmly, "As long as you obey my next commands, I have no desire to harm my descendants."
With a hesitant smile, Nishi continued, picking at his ear as he began to speak, "My cursed technique allows me to bless a willing target with cursed energy, while I can grant you cursed energy, you'll lack a cursed technique," he said with a pause.
"I called it Endowment Technique, in the past it took a whole day to do and was brutal on me, but luckily for you all..." Nishi smirked as he gestured casually, "...I've long since devised a way to accelerate this process many times over."
Looking perplexed, the entire crowd and the spectators who clung to the sidelines held not an ounce of understanding, a bulky man from the crowd commenting, "I think I speak for everyone here, but... what did any of that mean?" He said with a tilt to his head and a clear confusion in his tone.
Chuckling, Nishi stepped from the porch, his feet crunching down into the gravel beneath his feet as he walked through the small crowd of a dozen or so men, explaining gingerly, "In this world there exists the manifestation of negativity, cursed energy, it soaks itself into areas where negative thoughts are associated, graveyards, schools, hospitals, and so on," Nishi stopped as he looked around, glancing at several as he continued.
"The energy when controlled by a human, reclassifies them into what is known as a sorcerer," Nishi spoke calmly, a snake-like gaze settling upon him as he grinned at the teenager.
"It sounds similar to darkness, like our ancestors spoke of in their stories?" Nishi paused as he heard the teenager speak aloud, his gaze drifting to him.
Eyeing him for a moment, Nishi took a moment to appraise his memories.
Darkness...? Ah, I see, to further disconnect them from me, they passed down stories to slowly erase my connection to them, clever, I'll give them that.
"Darkness, as you put it... is a falsification," Nishi said as his gaze finally left the teenager, settling off into the distance, "There are indeed demonic spirits that emerge from black, but make no mistake..." Nishi's gaze sharpened to a lethal edge as he spoke coldly, "That part is truer than you could ever believe."
The crowd seemed to lightly recoil as Nishi's smirk returned, a rain droplet plopping down onto his head as he held a hand out, "I always loved a good rain shower, I hope it comes down heavy," Nishi commented, his hand suddenly swollen with the same gentle energy.
Looking around gradually, Nishi finally spoke, "Who wants to be the first to evolve past their humanity?" The crowd seemed to prick with unease, the sensation of curse lacing the air like a poison.
A long drawn out silence shook the air as Nishi waited, and waited, and waited some more, eventually speaking, "No volunteers?" He said as he looked around, disappointed.
"I'll go first," the teenager spoke nervously, breaching through the unease.
Nishi looked almost shocked, before his smile was refueled, Nishi slowly walking towards the teenager, "Grit your teeth," Nishi spoke as he balled his fist up.
Sweating profusely at the pressure, the teenager gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.
Nishi looked at the teenager as he pulled his arm behind his back.
Narrow down the target, just like all those years ago...[1] Nishi thought as his eyes gleamed with deadly focus.
With a loud growl of force, Nishi's fist planted itself straight into the teen's stomach, his eyes bulging as he staggered backwards, clutching his stomach in pain as that same fiery blue flared on the impact site of his fist.
Stepping back, Nishi crossed his arms as he eyed the teen, carefully examining him.
Will my first one back be a dud? I was always unlucky with this stuff.
The teen fell to his knees as he made pained noises, the others watching in anxiousness.
Come on... show me, show me you have a use, boy.
Slowly standing, his forehead was caked in sweat, however, looking at his hands, he and Nishi were welcomed to the sight of cursed energy wisping up from his hands, flowing like a fire of its own, blue and black rasping at the air.
"This is... cursed energy?" He said with wide eyes, sweat still dripping from his forehead.
Gradually, the teen looked to Nishi, a shocked expression plastering his face.
"So much..." He seemed to mutter mindlessly, staring at Nishi, seeing the violent rush of cursed energy that boiled within him.
Looking back at his hands, he held them up to the cloudy sky as the drizzle parted, rays of sun blasting through as he looked on awestruck, "It's- It's beautiful."
A light smirk touched his face, Nishi commenting, "As fate would have it, the first person I ever blessed with cursed energy said the same thing."
The smell of rain was strong as he took a deep breath, Nishi adding, "What's your name?"
His head whipped back to Nishi, looking on shocked as he quickly answered, "Keiji."
"Well, Keiji," Nishi paused as he flared his fists, looking to the others, "Let's see if these others are any good."
Over half an hour, a total of 14 were struck, but merely half of them were awakened to cursed energy, a fact that always irritated Nishi.
After striking the last one, Nishi dusted off his hands as sweat dripped from his forehead, wiping it clean with a smirk, "That's all for this village, I'll need more but it's a start," Nishi commented, glancing to Keiji.
"Seems you have the most talent for sorcery here, ironic, especially since you're the weakest out of all of them," Nishi said with a chuckle.
With a meek look, Keiji nodded, "Y-yeah..."
Pausing for but a moment, Nishi stared at him with an unreadable expression, before flicking his forehead, leaving a red mark.
Rubbing his forehead, Keiji quickly retorted, "What was that for?"
Eyeing him strongly, Nishi looked down at him with a smirk, "While the others hone their skills against each other, you'll get to fight with me."
Keiji froze when he heard this, confused as he asked, "Hone our... skills?"
Nodding, Nishi stretched as he glanced over to Keiji, "That's right," a groan cut off his sentence, quickly continuing, "I merely opened the door, it's your job to walk in and take part," Nishi smirked as he looked to the others.
"Ya' heard that, right?" Nishi paused to clench his fist at them and chuckle, "Because if you don't follow my commands, I'll make sure your family pays the price."
Some had hate in their eyes, others had fear, while some had both, despite that none of them opposed Nishi, a silent agreement.
"Good, you aren't stupid at least, now get a move on, I permit you to rest today and today alone," Nishi said as he shoo'd them off, "Tomorrow you'll be entering into a binding vow with me, be back here in the morning."
The looked on perplexed as they simply shuffled off, returning to their homes as Nishi looked on at their back with glee.
"Darkness has returned to the Obara clan..." A somber and pained voice tinged with familiarity graced Nishi's ears.
"Of course, the old man," Nishi said as both he and Keiji turned to face him, "What grandpa, afraid of power?" Nishi asked as he goaded him.
Ignoring Nishi, only glancing at him as Nakai spoke directly to Keiji, "Do not let darkness fester in your heart, otherwise, everything our ancestors did... will be for nothing, boy."
Hesitating to speak, Nishi put his hand out in front of Keiji, "Keiji here is now a proper Obara, you'd do well to respect him," Nishi briskly opposed, adding soon after, "The modern era has made you weak and fragile, even more so than you would've been a thousand years ago," Nishi added with a scoff.
"You've never served any purpose other than your selfish desires, Nishi," the old man said venomously, clear anger in his voice, "All you do is take."
Keiji stood silently beside Nishi as he awkwardly shuffled in place, Nishi grinning, "That is the truest way to live in this world, nothing will ever come freely to you, so you have to take it for yourself."
Nakai scowled as he retorted, "In this era, there is no need for you especially, our world is at relative peace, there are no roaming monsters such as yourself tainting this world, merely different kinds of human evil."
Suddenly patting Keiji's back, Keiji flinched as Nishi asked, "Keiji here, how about we let him decide!" Nishi said with an unsettling warm smile.
Taken aback by this sudden shift, Nakai cautiously stared on at him, looking to Keiji, before looking back to Nishi, "I have faith in the boy, he knows not to trust beasts like you," Nakai said as he smiled, "I've known him since he was a baby, everyone in this village is family."
Keiji's fist seemed to ball up as he stared down at his feet, Nishi looking back to Nakai, "How about this..." Crossing his arms, Nishi smiled calmly, his gaze laced with poison, "...If Keiji here says I shouldn't be here, I'll leave, otherwise, you'll be a servant for life," Nishi says as he unfolded his arms, shrugging with a casual smirk.
Nakai was completely caught off guard by this, staring on baffled, "Why should I believe a fiend like you?"
"It's not a matter of believing me if we make it a binding vow," Nishi said as he gestured lightly, "Simply if both of us agree, since we possess cursed energy, we can form one, so..." Ruffling Keiji's hair, Nishi leaned towards Nakai, "....How about it?"
Nakai began to sweat as he looked to Keiji, an uneasy smile playing on his face, "Fine, I agree, Keiji will side with his family."
Smirking, Nishi crossed his arms, stepping backward as he stood an equal distance from Keiji, "Go on Keiji, pick," Nishi said boldly, his gaze calm.
Nakai stood quietly, already holding his hand out, "I'm proud of you Keiji, you held out well, now come over here," Nakai said with a warm smile.
Keiji finally looked up as his gaze was cold, his lips hinting at the slightest bit of resentment, "Do you remember what I said I wanted to be when I grew up, uncle Nakai?" Keiji asked with an almost shaky voice.
Nakai looked on perplexed as he went to speak, Keiji interrupting, "Do you remember how you and everyone reacted when I said I wanted to move to the city when I grew up?"
"K-Keiji, now isn't the time to talk abo-"
"Do you? Do you remember how you all told me to abandon those dreams, settle down when you're of age and have a family here with some girl from another village?" Keiji said, his eyes showing clear as day resentment now.
Nakai seemed to get irritated, beginning to get louder, "Keiji, we can talk about this later, get over here with your actual family, Nishi is not even human!"
Keiji's eyes widened as he scowled at Nakai, "Every time I had a dream here, my 'family' tore it to shreds and told me it was a stupid idea," Keiji took a single step towards Nishi as he added, "I thought family was supposed to be supportive, at least that's what school taught me, a school I had to beg to be sent to, a school I was forced to walk to for miles because of that stupid ancient isolation tradition."
Nakai flinched with each step Keiji made, "K-KEIJI, GET OVER HERE, SIDING WITH HIM WILL ONLY HURT YOU!" Nakai said desperately, looking past Keiji as he saw Nishi with a sadistic grin stretched across his face.
Keiji scowled as he turned around, speaking without looking, "I'd rather follow... Master Nishi's way of life, than live the rest of my life a hollow and empty man like you," Keiji said toxicly.
As Keiji stood beside Nishi, he had long since stopped shaking, his gaze hard as steel as Nishi glanced down at him, smiling, before looking back to Nakai, "Deals a deal."
"Keiji..." Nakai said, his shocked expression turning to bitter hate, "How dare you!- How dare you betray the family that raised you- How dare you!"
Keiji went to speak as Nishi cut in, petting his head, "Keiji," he spoke softly.
Flinching at the sudden contact, he glanced up through his hand on his head, "M-master Nishi?"
"Do you hate this man?" Nishi asked with a calm face.
Keiji's eyes widened as he slowly looked back to Nakai who stood with a red face and anger lacing his expression, nodding slowly as he replied quietly, "Yes..."
"Then kill him," Nishi said casually, not a hint of jesting or joking.
Keiji froze when he heard this, looking to Nakai before looking to Nishi, "What...?"
"Kill who you hate, save who you love, and do what you please, you said you wanted to follow my way of life," Nishi took his hand off of his head, adding, "This is how you do it, let your whims fuel you, become unfettered..." Nishi's eyes remained psychotically solid as he added, "...Like a calamity."
Keiji began to shudder before calming down, "Like a calamity..." He repeated to himself.
"Funnel that hate greedily into your growth... sorcery is an art of solitude, do not waste time relying on friends or family, kill them all and reach the peak of your desires," Nishi said, almost like a visage of a monster swallowing up Keiji.
"Don't listen to him, Keiji! You are being a fucking imbecile!" Nakai shouted in frustration.
Seemingly possessed, Keiji rushed forward, his eyes narrowed with hatred for Nakai, "My desires..."
Nakai put his hands up as he was utterly baffled, "KEIJI!" He shouted, people from the village who'd been watching, looking on in terror.
A dark red curse flared in Keiji's fist as his brow was furrowed in fury, hurling his fist forward at Nakai, "I hate you!" He roared as he plowed his fist into his nose, bashing it in as blood spurted out freely, coating Keiji's hand as the old man fell onto his back, the sun shining down on him as he looked up dazed.
"I hate you all so much!" Keiji shouted out, looking to the spectators, "There are so many wonderful things in the world, yet because they aren't part of tradition, you are just gonna' let them pass you by?! You were going to punish curiosity in such things?!"
Good... I see that my descendants still carry my strong will. Nishi thought, a smirk playing on his face.
As Keiji approached Nakai, who laid flat on his back, he got on top of him, staring into his eyes, "I hated how you treated Ike especially, he was the only one brave enough to oppose everyone, but now because of you, he's gone," Keiji said darkly, "So now I'm going to kill you and follow Master Nishi."
"K-keiji..." Nakai said weakly, but before another word could escape his lips.
CRUNCH, a stomp to his neck silenced him, only a shallow release of air as Keiji slowly looked to Nishi breathlessly, "I- I did it."
He's got the perfect mentality, I'll shape him into the sharpest blade and make sure his use reaches its fullest potential. Nishi thought with a smirk.
[1] Fun Fact!
Nishi used a binding vow here.
In return for not inflicting any physical damage from the massive amount of cursed energy fueled into the technique, he is instead making his technique use directly deliver the ritual to his target via a physical punch.